The long-term objective of this project is the development of a research and didactic program, which building upon my education in dentistry and engineering, will provide me with the skill necessary to adapt basic engineering principles to the examination of materials' function, response, and interaction in the complex biological environment. The Ph.D. program, combining the disciplines of oral biology and materials science, will present course work and seminars in immunology, biochemistry, and surface science. The primary thrust of the didactic program will be a comprehensive understanding of surface interactions. That is, interactions which depend on the properties and characteristics of the material as well as the chemistry of the biological organism. This project will provide for me the foundation for future investigation and development of biomaterials, a task which demand not only an understanding of physical and mechanical properties, but a thorough knowledge of surface chemistry and biological response. Phase 1 of the research component will focus on a comprehensive examination of the surface of synthetic and natural apatites. Using a combination of chemical and structural techniques, the nature of the surface of these materials will be described in terms of surface chemistry and morphology. The natural apatite will be dental enamel collected from magnesium-treated rats. This hypomineralized enamel chemically resembles human enamel collected from occlusal pits and fissures and proximal surfaces, i.e., sites on the human tooth which are susceptible to decay and bonding failures. The synthetic apatites will include hydroxylapatite and Mg containing apatites. During phase 1 these surfaces will be characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Auger, and ESCA. The surface chemistry analysis will be augmented by x-ray diffraction, TEM, and STEM. In phase 2, the chemical interaction of the new isocyanatoacrylate direct bonding dental adhesives and the representative enamel will be examined using FTIR, Auger, ESCZ, and TEM. Currently available adhesives will be characterized and compared. The intact bond, as well as the fracture surfaces, will be evaluated. This study will thus combine characterization of a substrate, which is a chemical model of failure-prone sites on the human tooth, with the examination of a promising new direct bonding dental adhesive.